Stuff.co.nz - Roil Around the Worldhttp://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/blogs/roil-around-the-world
Top Stories from Stuff.co.nz. New Zealand, world, sport, business & entertainment news on Stuff.co.nz. en-nzFairfax New Zealand Ltd.30http://static2.stuff.co.nz/images/logo.gifStuff Newshttp://www.stuff.co.nz
Lessons and farewellshttp://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/blogs/roil-around-the-world/7868023/Lessons-and-farewells
You learn a lot on the road. And not just about dates and art and what that old ruin used to be.stuff.co.nz/7868023Mon, 29 Oct 2012 10:35:15 +1300The photography habits of touristshttp://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/blogs/roil-around-the-world/7848313/The-photography-habits-of-tourists
It's been funny watching the different ways tourists take photos. With the accessibility of decent, relatively cheap cameras, everyone seems to be an amateur photographer these days (judging from my Facebook feed at least.)stuff.co.nz/7848313Tue, 23 Oct 2012 09:11:45 +1300Where's the loo?http://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/blogs/roil-around-the-world/7830568/Wheres-the-loo
Why is toileting so rarely discussed in travel guides, on intrepid TV shows or in books? It's strange, because what goes in must come out, and those media can't talk enough about food and drink. stuff.co.nz/7830568Thu, 18 Oct 2012 09:49:00 +1300This is South Africahttp://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/blogs/roil-around-the-world/7820743/This-is-South-Africa
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I love checking out exotic wildlife in foreign countries. I'm easily pleased - exotic to me is any creature that doesn't hang out in the New Zealand bush. Which is almost all of them, pretty birds aside.stuff.co.nz/7799584Thu, 11 Oct 2012 13:51:46 +1300Sweet rugby victory in a foreign landhttp://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/blogs/roil-around-the-world/7782837/Sweet-rugby-victory-in-a-foreign-land
How good was the <strong><a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/all-blacks/7781434/McCaw-thanks-team-mates-for-milestone">All Blacks' victory</a></strong> at the weekend? Even during the World Cup final last year I don't think I was as stressed about the result as I was about Sunday morning's (NZ time) game against South Africa. Because if we'd lost, I shudder to think how my friends and I would've survived the rabid (only a slight exaggeration) South African crowd.stuff.co.nz/7782837Mon, 08 Oct 2012 12:43:24 +1300Middle seat hell on a long haul flighthttp://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/blogs/roil-around-the-world/7741806/Middle-seat-hell-on-a-long-haul-flight
To the person developing teleporting technology: please hurry. I don't think I can take much more of this cattle class flying. If I was in that luxurious place we all dream of as we plebs are crammed like beasts in the back of the plane, then sure.stuff.co.nz/7741806Fri, 05 Oct 2012 07:37:03 +1300Why we need to learn more languageshttp://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/blogs/roil-around-the-world/7741319/Why-we-need-to-learn-more-languages
If you're like me and can speak only English, travelling around Europe makes you feel pretty dumb. I reckon almost every person on that continent is fluent in at least two languages. I suppose it's mandatory when so many different countries, each with its own tongue, have to interact so closely with one another. stuff.co.nz/7741319Tue, 02 Oct 2012 08:44:35 +1300Coping with a bird phobia in Europehttp://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/blogs/roil-around-the-world/7734314/Coping-with-a-bird-phobia-in-Europe
I'm scared of birds. I know it's an irrational fear, that there's nothing a bird can do to me except <strong><a href="http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/search-for-magpie-which-partly-blinded-boy-fails-20110922-1klwd.html">peck out my eyes</a></strong>, or flap in my face until I die, but I'm terrified nonetheless.stuff.co.nz/7734314Fri, 28 Sep 2012 07:24:00 +1200Impressions of Florencehttp://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/blogs/roil-around-the-world/7729985/Impressions-of-Florence
What do you do when you have 24 hours in a city that your guidebook tells you can only be properly experienced in four to five days?stuff.co.nz/7729985Wed, 26 Sep 2012 11:09:00 +1200Ten world’s best watery destinationshttp://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/blogs/roil-around-the-world/7704649/Ten-world-s-best-watery-destinations
Apart from a brief few days in Rome, I've stayed as close as possible to water in the past few weeks to squeeze the last out of the Northern Hemisphere summer (I'm excited to be home for a second one soon.) It's had me thinking about other watery places I've visited. Here are 10 of my favourites:stuff.co.nz/7704649Thu, 20 Sep 2012 17:11:00 +1200The tourism of deathhttp://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/blogs/roil-around-the-world/7694954/The-tourism-of-death
I don't know why, but I've got this macabre fascination with the dead. I'm not obsessed with dying or anything (I want to live forever like the rest of us), but I gravitate to places associated with it. I like to imagine the lives of those who are no longer with us (in cemeteries, for example) and I love that there could be a magical ghost world beyond our mundane reality. I know it's unlikely, but it's fun to romanticise.stuff.co.nz/7694954Tue, 18 Sep 2012 11:49:00 +1200Cinque Terre: why everyone raveshttp://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/blogs/roil-around-the-world/7667478/Cinque-Terre-why-everyone-raves
Which are the most photographed sites in the world? Judging from a scientific study I've conducted on Facebook, Italy's <strong><a href="http://www.lonelyplanet.com/italy/cinque-terre">Cinque Terre National Park</a></strong> has got to be up there.stuff.co.nz/7667478Fri, 14 Sep 2012 08:54:00 +1200Travelling with friends - good idea or bad?http://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/blogs/roil-around-the-world/7658350/Travelling-with-friends-good-idea-or-bad
Travelling with another person is lovely, but I think if Piglet knew how to count higher than two, he would've substituted that number in his "it's so much friendlier..." quote with a larger digit. The world is such a huge place, and most of it is so far away from New Zealand, that to hang out with your friends on the other side of the planet is pretty exciting, don't you think? It's a big effort to get people's timing and budgets to align like that. stuff.co.nz/7658350Wed, 12 Sep 2012 12:12:37 +1200What's in a view?http://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/blogs/roil-around-the-world/7644832/Whats-in-a-view
I've come across an abundance of stunning views on this trip. Some take effort to see - I've climbed thousands of cathedral steps and many hills for them - and others are thrust in your path. The great thing about a good lookout is that it combines scenic eye candy with a solid perspective of the place you're visiting.stuff.co.nz/7644832Mon, 10 Sep 2012 14:38:13 +1200Getting naked in Europehttp://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/blogs/roil-around-the-world/7621040/Getting-naked-in-Europe
Have you noticed Europeans love to get naked? It's a sweeping generalisation, I know, but though their cultures and languages differ, the one thing the peoples of Europe have in common is a comfort with platonic nudity that we cannot identify with.stuff.co.nz/7621040Thu, 06 Sep 2012 08:02:59 +120010 of the world's best parkshttp://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/blogs/roil-around-the-world/7606908/10-of-the-worlds-best-parks
The local park is one of my favourite places to visit in a new city. A bit of green space is a reprieve from the haste, and if you're feeling tired, it offers the perfect mix of relaxation and exploration.stuff.co.nz/7606908Tue, 04 Sep 2012 10:12:03 +1200Taking a break from the holiday grindhttp://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/blogs/roil-around-the-world/7576892/Taking-a-break-from-the-holiday-grind
This is a ridiculous thing to say, but sometimes you need a holiday from your, erm, holiday. It's just so tough exploring Europe and learning all those dates and stuff, you know? I'm developing beautiful church fatigue.stuff.co.nz/7576892Thu, 30 Aug 2012 21:51:53 +1200What's on your bucket list?http://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/blogs/roil-around-the-world/7566656/Whats-on-your-bucket-list
A few weeks ago I wrote about <strong><a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/blogs/roil-around-the-world/7349256/What-type-of-traveller-are-you" target="_blank">two different types</a></strong> of tourist - the atmosphere soaker-upper, and the box-ticker. But there are other kinds of traveller too. There are those who backpack the world with little to their name, confident they'll find a bed <em>somewhere</em> each night. They're the risk-takers who, when they run out of money, have no qualms loitering out the back of a bakery at the end of the day to intercept the leftover food before it reaches the rubbish. They would've been the <strong><a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/capital-life/7502663/Dumpster-divers-find-capitals-discarded-treasure" target="_blank">dumpster divers</a></strong> at university too, one person on the lookout to avoid the security guard while the other rummaged inside the supermarket skip bin to claim out of date, but still edible, goods.stuff.co.nz/7566656Wed, 29 Aug 2012 10:41:38 +1200